Chūji Hashimoto

Chūji Hashimoto (born December 23, 1898 – died March 15, 1970) was a Japanese naval officer and businessman. His final rank was Captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was from Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. Notably, he was the uncle of Ryutaro Hashimoto, who served as Prime Minister of Japan.

Career

Chūji Hashimoto was born as the second son of Utarō Hashimoto and Mats, who were employees of Nippon Beer Co., Ltd. He graduated from the 48th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in July 1920. After graduation, he was dispatched as a specialized student at the Naval War College to study wireless weapons research, and in 1928 he graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Tohoku Imperial University.

Subsequently, he served in various positions including electrical department member at Kure Naval Arsenal, instructor at the Naval Communications School, staff member at the Naval Naval Affairs Headquarters, researcher at the Naval Technical Research Institute, and was stationed abroad in Germany and Sweden as an military attaché. He also served as the chief of operations at Numazu Naval Arsenal's Wireless Department.

After the war, he held executive roles such as president of Kotobuki Electric and vice-president of Rokkō Electric.

Family and Relatives

The Hashimoto family has bases in Soja City, Okayama Prefecture, and Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

His father, Utarō Hashimoto, was a businessman who served as executive director at Nippon Breweries Co., Ltd. (now Kirin Holdings). Utarō was born in March 1869 in Okayama Prefecture and was active in business management during the Meiji and Taisho periods.

His mother, Mats, was from Kumamoto Prefecture and was the sister of Shinsei Ishikō. The Ishikō family were retainers of the Kumamoto lords during the feudal era, serving the Hosokawa clan for generations.

His siblings include:

- Uichi, a scholar and former president of Tokyo Higher Technical School (now Tokyo University of Technology)

- Kenzō, a prosecutor

- Ryugo, a bureaucrat and politician

- Koro, a scholar and former professor at Tohoku University

His wife was Kanako, from Saga Prefecture, the eldest daughter of the army Lieutenant General Yutaka Ōno. They had children including:

- The eldest daughter, Ikuko

- The second son, Iwao

- The third son, Hidetugu

- The fourth son, Kazuhisa

- The fifth son, Takeo